What’s the ROI of ergonomics?
Encouraging better health at work can have an impact on your ROI, and good ergonomics can play a critical part in this. As well as reducing potential absence through illness, the right ergonomic equipment can help improve efficiency. A comfortable workforce is a productive one. We’ll show you how.
Workplace ergonomics is a hot topic for any business owner who wants to optimise their team’s output by encouraging better health at work. It has been calculated that UK workers suffer a staggering 553,000 cases of work-related musculoskeletal disorders each year. * While workers endure aching muscles, debilitating trapped nerves or limited movement that an ill-equipped office environment can cause, organisations watch the negative impact of absences, illness and lower productivity play out on their bottom line.
Investing in the ergonomic furniture and accessories is as important as investing in quality training and recruitment. Fewer lost workdays, lower medical expenses (if these are part of employee benefits) and avoiding the cost of interim staff all mean saving long term costs.
However, employee sick days aren’t the only reason productivity and associated profits plummet. An employee suffering from wrist strain, back pain or aching shoulders won’t work at their optimum and, in the long run, that will cost an organisation money.
How much do all those aches and pains really cost businesses?
Fast Facts
• 44 million workers in the European Union suffer from back pain as a result of work-related health problems.
(Source: https://osha.europa.eu/en/node/7098/file_view
• More than 600 million working days are lost due to work related ill health each year in Europe, and around 40-50% of these will be for muscoskeletal disorders according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
(Source: https://osha.europa.eu/en/node/7098/file_view)
The ergonomic ROI
There are well-known ROI calculations that you can apply to work out the return on investment by creating a healthy, ergonomically correct workplace. It is based on the standard formula for ROI, i.e. benefits-cost/cost. However, to find out how just one piece of ergonomically designed furniture, such as the sit/stand desk, could benefit your business in real terms, use the Fellowes Sit-Stand ROI Calculator.